“Bless Me, Ultima” has been cited as the best-selling Chicano novel of all time but it took more than 4 decades for it to reach the screen. The film version of "Bless Me, Ultima" opened in select San Diego Theaters on February 22. Watch my video interview with two of the actors.

Last night the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented its 85th annual Oscars and San Diego had a winner.

TheNAT's new bug exhibit serves up an old-fashioned circus sideshow called Dr. Entomo's Palace of Exotic Wonders where fun and education are served up in equal parts.

To celebrate Black History Month, Cygnet Theater brings in some of the cast from August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean” to share a scene.

WARNING! Potential danger of sensory overload while watching “Moulin Rouge”. Okay, you’ve been warned. Baz Luhrmann, the in your face, over-the-top Australian director of Strictly Ballroom and 1996’s Romeo and Juliet— is at it again. No one would ever accuse Luhrmann of being subtle and his film, “Moulin Rouge” (screening tonight at 7pm at the Birch North Park Theater courtesy of FilmOut) is no exception. The film travels back to turn of the century Paris to spin a bold, outrageous love story as only he could do.

Adult Puppet Cabaret (Friday, February 22 at the Museum of Photographic Arts) serves up live performances and independent films all involving puppets. The San Diego-based hybrid puppet company Animal Cracker Conspiracy is pushing the boundaries of puppetry with what they are calling “fearless puppet performances for a fearless audience.”

The San Diego Opera’s "Samson and Delilah" opens this weekend. Go behind the scenes to see what it takes to bring this Bible story to the stage.

“John Dies at the End” was written as a webserial in 2001. It has now been made into a movie that opens today at Landmark’s Hillcrest Cinemas. It is destined to be a cult hit.

John McClane is back and this time he’s trying to mend bridges with his estranged son in the latest installment of the “Die Hard” franchise, “A Good Day to Die Hard” (opening February 14 throughout San Diego).

Tonight you can enjoy murder, martinis, and the sublime screwball comedy "The Thin Man" for Valentine's Day at The Whistle Stop's Shot by Shot Film Series.

“Beautiful Creatures” (opening February 14 throughout San Diego) serves up a supernatural love story based on the first novel in the best-selling series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

"Silent Hill: Revelation 3D" comes out on DVD and BluRay today. It is based on the highly popular video game. As video games start to outpace movies in terms of revenues, Hollywood is trying to figure out how to cash in. Here's why they are failing.

The Whaling Bar at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla had regulars like Ted "Dr. Seuss" Geisel and writer Raymond Chandler. But the Hotel wants to do some renovations and this Valentine’s Day will be the last chance patrons have to visit the cocktail lounge.

"Samson and Delilah" returns to the San Diego Opera this weekend and as you might expect, the scale is Biblical.

Circle Circle dot dot is a young theater company that keeps exploring new ways to connect with audiences. Their latest production, "San Diego I Love You" experiments with a site specific performance. Check out the video.

February is Black History Month and this edition of Midday Movies looks to a movie still in theaters and still generating controversy over it’s depiction of black history. The film is Quentin Tarantino’s "Django Unchained." The film received five Oscar nominations.

The 23rd Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival kicks off tonight with "Under African Skies." Here are some films you might want to seek out. The Festival runs through February 17.

Protea Gallery is a new addition to the North Park Scene. KPBS Arts Reporter Beth Accomando stopped by to see the installation of the new exhibit Textscapes featuring a paper sculpture by Joyce Dallal.

Whenever you see a festival branded with the names "Spike and Mike," you can be assured that there will be something to dazzle the senses. Spike and Mike’s 30th Anniversary Festival of Animation Extravaganza kicks off this Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla.

This Saturday Reading Cinemas kicks off another month of Forty Foot Films. What's a Forty Foot Film? Well read on.

My friend D.A. Kolodenko and I share a passion for film noir. So when he told me about the closing of the La Valencia Hotel's The Whaling Bar where Raymond Chandler would sit and drink, I decided it was worth noting.

The San Diego Black Film Festival kicks off tonight at Reading Gaslamp Cinemas and runs through February 3.

The La Jolla Playhouse launched its inaugural DNA New Works Series last week with two performances of "Chasing the Song" and the first performances of "The Tall Girls." Watch the behind the scenes video.

New York City has the second largest Jewish population of any city in the world and is bursting with great Jewish food, brilliant Jewish artists, and some quirky Jewish politicians. So, it's fitting that one focus of this year's San Diego Jewish Film Festival should be films about New York. The festival kicks off on February 7.

The case of the West Memphis 3 is the subject of the documentary "West of Memphis" (opening today at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas). Sometimes a documentary is worth seeing even if it's not well made.

The La Jolla Playhouse has long supported new play development with its Page to Stage program. Now they expand that support with the DNA New Works Series. The Playhouse's artistic director Christopher Ashley explains what audiences can expect.

This weekend provides a wide spectrum of events from opera to feline friends to the Human Rights Film Festival and more.

The San Diego Opera kicks off it's 48th season next weekend with "The Daughter of the Regiment." KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando sat in on a rehearsal to get the low down on singing the high C's in the opera's famous aria.

Halloween's long past but it's never too late for a good ghost story. Guillermo Del Toro is once again mentoring a new director, this time with the film "Mama" (opening January 18 throughout San Diego).

SDSU film school grads Destin Cretton and Ron Najor took their film "I Am Not A Hipster" to Sundance last year. Yesterday, their film was finally released to the public.

The La Jolla Playhouse has a tradition of supporting new works. This month it kicks off a new play development program called DNA New Works Series.

The 70th Golden Globe Awards came and went without many surprises but necklines definitely took a plunge.

The foreign film "Amour" (opening January 11 at Landmark's La Jolla Village Theaters) racked up a surprising and well deserved 5 Oscar nominations yesterday.

"I Am Not A Hipster," set against the San Diego indie music scene, premiered last January at Sundance. Tonight at 7:00pm it screens at Landmark's Ken Cinema with filmmakers Destin Cretton and Ron Najor on hand for a Q&A and after party at the Ken Club.

The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards were announced this morning with "Lincoln" leading the list with 12 nominations, and three directors win nominations after being passed over by the Directors Guild.

Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" opened over the weekend. It deals with the CIA's years long hunt for Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks. The film has been racking up kudos from critics and awards organizations but has also drawn criticism for its depiction of torture.

"Zero Dark Thirty" (opening January 4 throughout San Diego) has been racking up award nominations but it's also getting criticized for its depiction of torture.

Landmark Theatres presents a two-week long retrospective of Japanese animation called The Studio Ghibli Collection, and it offers a great opportunity to see the works of master animator and storyteller Hayao Miyazaki on the big screen.

Looking back on 2012 I find some glorious high points but overall a rather bland year.

On Christmas Day Quentin Tarantino left a present under the tree for film lovers, it's called "Django Unchained" (opened December 25 in select theaters).

KPBS Cinema Junkie's Beth Accomando and San Diego CityBeat's Anders Wright take a look at the films and performances from 2012.

KPBS takes a look at the top art and culture stories in San Diego with reporters Angela Carone and Beth Accomando.

If you feel Christmas has become a crass commercial event, then here's the perfect thing for you: an original radio play called "Christmas, Inc." The play was created for KPBS by Columbia Street Films and it serves up a sly comic tale of a very corporate Christmas.

I have loved Peter Jackson ever since "Bad Taste," "Meet the Feebles," and of course "Dead Alive." I was pleased to see him win Oscars for bringing J.R.R. Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings" to the screen. So I was looking forward to "The Hobbit" (opening December 14 throughout San Diego).

This weekend in San Diego presents some great opportunities to join in the merriment of the holiday season, either by enjoying holiday themed activities or just taking part in the unique offerings that make San Diego a culturally and gastronomically enriching place to live.

Following on the heels of the Broadcast Film Critics Association award nominations, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association just announced their nominations for this year's Golden Globes.

As with the shopping season, the awards season kicks into high gear right after Thanksgiving. "Zero Dark Thirty" has already nabbed some accolades but now "Lincoln" is racking up nominations with the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Critics Choice Awards.

The Instruments of Torture exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Man wants us to consider if there is a time for torture. [WARNING: SOme material is disturbing.]

George V. Higgins was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts before becoming an author in 1970 with "The Friends of Eddie Coyle." His 1974 novel "Coogan's Trade" has just been adapted into the film "Killing Them Softly" (opened November 30 throughout San Diego).

This weekend, you can catch martial arts star Donnie Yen in "Dragon" (opening November 30 at Reading Gaslamp Stadium Theaters). The film mixes genres to good effect.